Star date: 16th August 2019

TABLEAUX PROJECTIONS, MARCHES AND PERFORMANCE

Today is the 200th Anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre, with events happening all day outside and inside Manchester Central, followed by projections tonight on Bridgewater Hall of the incredible Hidden Project's tableaux's.

Both Saturday and Sunday will see marches heading into Manchester, via Salford, for rallies and speeches at Albert Square and outside Manchester Central.

Full details here...

Today is the 200th Anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre when, on 16th August 1819, 18 people were killed and hundreds injured as they peacefully protested for democracy and a better standard of life.

Overall there will have been over 150 events to mark the bicentenary with the culmination happening this weekend...

Friday 16th August...

Throughout the day...From The Crowd – Indoor performances have sold out but between 2:15pm and 4:45pm, and between 6:30pm and 7:15pm, there are Rebel Karaoke performances on the steps of Manchester Central which will feature choirs, poetry, music and orations, including Streetwise Opera, Commoners Choir and the Let's Sing Choir. Free.

From 9:15pm - The Hidden Tableaux's Peterloo Massacre projections outside Bridgewater Hall. The incredible images created by Red Saunders* will be projected onto the walls of the Bridgewater Hall, accompanied by fifty singers with solidarity songs, from The Commoners Choir Leeds and Open voices Manchester. Free.

Saturday 17th August – Peterloo Memorial Marches and Rally

Salford section is meeting at Cobden Street, near Pendleton roundabout/Pendleton Church at 1:15pm before heading via Salford Crescent Station to Deansgate in Manchester to meet with the 'Henry Hunt' Middleton marchers and onto the big event outside Manchester Central aka G-Mex.

Once at Manchester Central, there will be an 'illegal picnic' at which there will be the launch of a new Six Acts project, taking its inspiration from the original six demands of the Chartist movement in the 1830s...plus speakers and other events (for more details see here)

Sunday 18th August – March For Democracy

Organised by local trade unions, the Salford section is meeting at 11:30am at Queen Street, off Blackfriars Road, to march to Albert Square for 1pm where there will be speakers and entertainment (for more details see here).

Together with all these events, the permanent Memorial to Peterloo, designed by Jeremy Deller and Caruso St John Architects, has now been unveiled and features the names of Salford places where marchers to the original Peterloo protest came from – Eccles, Pendleton, Pendlebury and Barton.

There has been more than disquiet about the lack of disability access to the memorial. Manchester City Council has now put out a statement: "The Council has acknowledged that the innovative and imaginative interpretation of the design brief, with a greater emphasis on interaction than originally envisaged for a public artwork, meant that not enough consideration was initially given to accessible design issues.

"We have listened to, and engaged with, the concerns of disability access campaigners who have raised this issue, and we are committed to making the monument fully accessible – so that everyone can reach the top. Details of a proposal for how this will be achieved are being finalised and will be announced in the next few days. Both the council and Jeremy Deller are determined that the solution will be of the highest design quality and make a positive contribution to the overall appearance of the memorial as well as its accessibility and dialogue will continue..."

To see more details on everything happening this weekend see the Peterloo website – click here

* For more details of the Hidden Peterloo project and exhibition at Manchester Central Library see previous Salford Star article – click here

The Salford Star will be covering all these events over the weekend.

Update: 17th August 2019 - Hidden Peterloo Tableaux's Light Up Bridgewater Hall - click here

Hundreds Attend Peterloo Commemoration Despite Rain - click here